


Troubles

by timahina



Series: Arc-V Rare Pair Week 2017 [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 07:32:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: Reiji didn't expect to come home late and find Ruri still awake.





	Troubles

The end of the work day was always an interesting time for Akaba Reiji. Granted, the end of his official work day was 6pm but in general, his own personal day didn’t end until sometime near midnight when he would finally leave the office and take the elevator up to the family suite. At this point, everyone was fast asleep. Reiji was always careful to grab something quick to eat, cold leftovers were better than nothing.

As he opened the door and turned on the light at the entrance, he nearly jumped back. There was Ruri, curled up in a chair at the end of the hall with her eyes fixed on a tablet and earbuds stuck in her ears. Her eyes were not as bright as they normally were – she was up much too late.

Reiji shut the door a little loudly, so much so that he saw Ruri perk up at last. Her eyes much more alert as she took out the earbuds and put down the tablet. “Reiji!” She jumped from the chair and ran down the hall, practically jumping on him. “Where have you been? It’s _late_.”

He had been more than used to this situation. The way she would pounce on him. Part of him figured her eventual goal was to knock the wind out of him or to knock him to his feet. But Reiji was getting better at handling this, steadying his legs to support her. “… I work late, Ruri. Surely you’ve realized this.”

A pout as she released him from her full body hug. “You don’t have to be _rude_ about it.”

“It’s not rude to be blunt.”

She didn’t have much of a retort, how odd. Usually, she was full of them – never was he allowed to have the last word. Instead, she just grabbed his hand and lead him deeper into the suite.

“And, ta-da!” Ruri leapt forward, holding her arms out to the dining table and Reiji simply stared for a moment, finding an actual meal waiting for him. Judging from the steam coming off the plate, she had just made it. He wasn’t expecting… hot food… not so late either. “Here I was, making sure you don’t _starve_ from your cracker and coffee diet and you have to be _rude_ and rebuke my affections.” Ruri huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turned her head away in a dramatic fashion.

He couldn’t help but smile. As if he could do anything to scorn or tarnish her affections by now. Reiji could imagine her being spoiled with a working oven and actual spices and meat that wasn’t manufactured in a lab to be condensed into a non-perishable, easy to consume canned food. One of these days, he knew that he should probably join her in her cooking sessions, see how she worked.

“… thank you, Ruri.” Reiji leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. She always wanted some kind of praise, though she would never say so aloud. Having to ask was the same as begging and she considered that beneath her, not willing to embarrass herself further. The more dramatic she was, the higher the praise needed to be.

A slight blush appeared as she tilted her head. She was less pouty now, but still… “If you _really_ want to thank me, then you should eat. Coffee alone isn’t good for you.”

He snorted as he took a seat at the table. “I do have other things throughout the day aside from coffee.”

“You know what I meant, silly.”

Reiji stared at the food momentarily, still in a slight surprise that she stayed up to make him an actual meal. Usually, he came back to find her passed out on the couch or the floor or even on the balcony, curled up on a small chair and huddled under a fuzzy blanket. This must’ve been some kind of motivation for her to stay awake longer. Before Reiji could take the fork and start eating, Ruri immediately took it from the plate and scooped up some of the food. He watched her curiously, not realizing she had sat down and moved the chair so close to his own.

Was she going to eat it?

No, not the way she was holding it so far from herself and to…

_Oh, come on._

“Say _ah._ ”

“Ruri…”

He locked his jaw for a moment. This was so... infuriating. Why couldn’t she just be normal and let him eat this himself? Or even, she could grab a fork and they could even share the plate? Why did she need to try to feed him?

The way her eyes were wide and hopeful and the way her smile was enticing – she was so conniving in ways he didn’t comprehend. But worse so, her acting like this was rare. Only recently had she come out of her shell. Deciding to be… doing more than simply distancing. Reiji sighed. He supposed he could sacrifice a few moments of embarrassment if it meant she wouldn’t backtrack. And he was rather hungry.

He opened his mouth, not expecting her to laugh the way she did. “You _actually_ did it!”

Incredibly conniving… but still, she moved the fork forward till the food was in his mouth.

This was such a surreal moment for him. He was used to meals by himself, cold leftovers from a large lunch. Used to no one staying up to see him, awaiting his return. By now, he would’ve sat in silence and reading up on figures for the next day and other papers.

But instead, Ruri was there.

She continued with her strange little routine, feeding him and giggling each time – was she serious the first time she asked? If not, then there was no point in continuing the action. But she must’ve been. Maybe she was laughing because she didn’t think he _would_ take on the ridiculous request?

After a few more bites, she handed the fork back to him. “Ok, Reiji – I’ll be nice to you. You can finish up yourself.”

Was this because she thought he was annoyed? Or was she tired?

Was he overthinking?

It was better to speak. “… you can keep going, you know.” Reiji muttered. He almost missed the adoring surprise in her expression. How she seemed genuinely shocked. Just as he was to find that she was awake and had made him food. It occurred to him in that moment that… neither of them were used to this kind of thing.

Loneliness had seeped through so far. She was attempting to grasp it in small doses while he dove to take hold of it at the first opportunity.

“… are you sure?”

Reiji  nodded. It wasn’t as if he was really all that tired and neither was she. Besides… even if she was, the table wasn’t the oddest place she had fallen asleep at.


End file.
